Tears Don't Fall
by TINK1282
Summary: Her life is warped, twisted around... he faces his own dilemmas in a world he can barely call his own... Sesshoumaru X OC
1. Saved

Disclaimer: This applies to all chapters throughout 'Tears Don't Fall': InuYasha is definitely not mine

**Disclaimer: This applies to all chapters throughout 'Tears Don't Fall': InuYasha is definitely not mine. **

Her body was sprawled in a tangled mess on the ground, her arm thrown at an ungodly angle and her hair falling in limp, bloodied strands across her face. Dry blood clung to her clothes; she couldn't differentiate between what was hers and what was her attacker's. Did it matter? Sleep hovered over her, and she willed herself not to succumb. Sleep meant to die, and she still had some unfinished business to attend to…

In the end, she let her eyes drift closed, _'If only for a moment… just one moment's rest…' _

"Is she… alive?"

"Yeah. Her vital signs are okay. It seems to me like she put up quite a fight trying to fend off whoever was attacking her."

"Or _what _was attacking her."

Xianghua could hear the voices talking about her, but she couldn't do anything more than listen. Her head was too heavy to lift, and her eyelids felt like someone had decided to use them as a weight bench. Darkness surrounded her, and she barely whimpered trying to get out of it. She could see the faintest shards of light, but she couldn't move. She felt herself being lifted onto something soft, a bed perhaps? A sharp object, perhaps a needle, pricked her arm and she felt the pain leave her. She guessed the substance was… morphine?

She found the energy to crack an eye open and saw two men- one was a heavier man with glasses and aged blue eyes. His hair was graying and there were distinguished laugh lines over his features. His back was slightly hunched and he was shuffling around almost nervously. The other seemed to be about mid-30s. His hair was the color of birch, his back straight and proud, and warm brown eyes peered directly into hers.

"You're awake." She nodded feebly, struggling to lift her head. The world was spinning ever so slightly and she felt an odd numbing sensation over her body. She noticed she could only move her head, or was she moving more? She couldn't tell from her vantage point.

"My name is Leo, and this," He pointed to the eccentric man and smiled, "is Igor." She almost laughed at the irony; the old man even looked remotely like a lab rat. Igor smiled warmly, skittering over to her and shook her hand, at least she thought he was. He was shaking something…

"It's high time you woke up! Me 'n Leo here was startin' to worry 'bout ya!" Xianghua gave him a faint smile, before it dawned on her- no wonder everything was so blurry… her demon senses weren't working! Whoever these people were though, they were being incredibly nice to her, and for that she was grateful. She could have easily died out there, she hadn't _meant _to actually fall asleep…

The two men bowed out of the room, and she felt some feeling seeping back in her body. She flexed her claws, giving a low growl since her surroundings were still blurred. She mustered the energy to stand and looked around the room. There was an oak dresser in the corner, with its edges slightly chipped and the coloring worn from old age. Adjacent to that was a bookshelf of the same quality, with odd trinkets placed between random books. To her left she saw an old vanity, the mirror freshly cleaned. She could feel an odd tingling coursing through her body, and grinned. Her strength was doubled, and she could see the fibers of the hairs on the brush sitting on the vanity. She could hear muffled voiced downstairs that she hadn't heard a few seconds ago, and could smell everything... and older smell, she guessed Igor. There was the scent of pine and lemon… Leo. And a different smell, a grandmother's smell perhaps? It smelled like almonds, and was distinctly feminine. She brushed her hair and dug some gunk out of her sapphire eyes, pausing to put on some clothes someone had left on the bed for her.

As she walked down the stairs, she observed the house she had been placed in. A quaint two-story cottage, it was very homey. Old pictures adorned the yellowed walls, and the paint was peeling in a few areas. The wood stairs creaked with each step she took and the railing was worn, but she couldn't see a mess anywhere. There were no bugs, she couldn't hear any rats, there wasn't a single spider web hiding in the corner… She smirked. Obviously someone took great care of the little cottage.

She entered the dining room, where Leo and Igor sat comfortably in high-backed chairs. A plump woman who looked to be about Igor's age kissed his cheek and smiled warmly at Xianghua.

"Pancakes?" She extended her arm, holding out a plate littered with a variety of the food. She grabbed a few and smiled graciously, sitting down and helping herself. She hadn't had a home-cooked meal in ages, it seemed, not since she had a family. She winced at the thought, and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to be thinking such things…

"Does it taste alright?" The woman asked with a marked frown. Xianghua nodded, swallowing and smiling.

"It's delicious."

"Ah. You have already met Leo and Igor here, haven't you?"

Xianghua nodded, waving hello at the two men.

"Oh well I wouldn't want to go introduced! How rude of me! My name is Martha, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Xianghua laughed, shaking her outstretched hand. "I'm Xianghua, and the same for you."

"Now what's a demon like you doing in these parts?"

Xianghua shrugged. She at first had wondered how Martha had known, but guessed she had helped bring her in and had seen her claws or fangs. "Business as usual. Thank you so much for the food, but I think I need to go now. Sorry, I'm not usually this much of a grouch, I'm just a little tired."

Martha shrugged in return. "No worries, dear, we all get like that at times!" She brushed a stray gray hair from her bun and smiled warmly. "Now you make sure to come visit me, all right?"

Xianghua had already been about halfway out the door, but turned and smiled, promising she would.

!!

She climbed through the trees, her pointed ears picking up sounds that guided her to where she needed to be. She was distracted however, when two voices came on the wind.

"Osuwari!"

She cocked an eyebrow at the term, and smiled when she saw a boy under the tree get slammed into the ground. He had flowing white hair and two dog ears at the top of his head. He was wearing a red haori, and there was an old sword attached to his hip. The girl who had uttered the command stepped out of the shadows with her hands on her hips and a marked frown on her face.

The boy stood from the ground, looking just as frustrated as she did. "Kagome! What the hell was that for?"

Her scowl deepened. "Come on InuYasha. Can we try to find Miroku and Sango now?"

He scoffed. "Keh. Whatever." He opened his mouth to say something, but cut himself off, sniffing the air and landing in the tree Xianghua was in.

"Hey. Who the hell are you?"

_**A/N**_

_**www.rworks.**__** - go there!**_

_**As you can see, I'm going through and reposting these chapters before I put any new ones up. I had written this story a while ago, and when I read it again, I just wasn't pleased. I'll try to get everything out and reposted as soon as I can, so bear with me. Ch.2 should be up (reposted) very, very soon.**_


	2. Strangers

**Chapter Two**

"My name's Xianghua." She stated proudly, teetering on the branch from the added weight of InuYasha, who was a mere foot or so away from her.

Kagome smiled up at her. "That's a really pretty name. Are you a… elf… youkai?" She guessed, cocking her head to the side.

Xianghua shrugged. "Close. Elf-kitsune. I'm a mixed breed I guess you could say."

InuYasha scowled, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "I thought elves and kitsunes hated each other or somethin'."

Xianghua nodded; all too vivid memories of her past assaulting her… "They do. I'm basically a roamer. Elves hate me, kitsunes hate me, and people hate me because I'm youkai."

InuYasha grew quiet at that, and Xianghua jumped down from the branch, landing neatly on her feet. "I'm a warrior now."

"Warrior? Keh. You don't look like much." InuYasha grumbled out. Kagome scowled up at him.

"Osuwari."

The branch creaked and broke, sending InuYasha careening towards the ground. He landed with a thud, and Xianghua brought her hand to her mouth to cover her amusement. She didn't understand how the command could control him like that, but she was thankful for it. She really didn't want to get into a verbal war at the moment...

"Are the two of you… together?" Xianghua questioned, her curiosity getting the best of her. Kagome stood and walked off without a sound, and InuYasha scoffed. "Like I'd ever get with that bossy wench."

Xianghua's gaze rose to where Kagome was, her back was to them and she was speeding up to a light run. InuYasha followed her gaze and scowled, getting to his feet and taking off after her. Xianghua sighed, doubting his words. If he really didn't care, he wouldn't have chased after her, would he have? The way Kagome had taken off like that though… was she in love with the _hanyou_?

Not five minutes had passed before another pair entered the small clearing. There was a definite demon slayer there, wearing traditional clothing. She raised an eyebrow, catching the eye of the monk. He raised a lecherous eyebrow in return, smirking slightly. "Good afternoon, woman. Bear my children?"

She laughed at the absurdity. "Well that's a little old fashioned don't you think?" Her thoughts corrupted what she was about to say- ever since she woke up everything seemed a little… _archaic_. Not that she minded, she was highly amused by the man's antics.

He shrugged. "Of course not." The slayer glared at him and smacked him on the head with the back of her palm.

"Sorry about Miroku. Who are you anyway?"

She nodded in acknowledgement. "My name's Xianghua...I'm an elf-kitsune." The slayer raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on the odd pairing.

"I see. Um, have you seen any… strange people come through here lately? There's a girl with black hair and blue eyes, and a boy with white hair, dog ears, and gold eyes. Sound familiar?"

She jerked her thumb over her shoulder in the direction the two had run off. "That way, they probably didn't get too far."

The slayer nodded her thanks and hefted an unconscious Miroku over her thin shoulder. Xianghua left soon after, walking east with no real destination in mind. She kind of hoped that the mysterious hanyou and the woman would make up, even though she knew it was none of her business and she would probably never see the pair again. She walked for days before she finally let herself rest, her body weary and aching from nonstop movement. She leaned against a tree and closed her eyes, finally succumbing to the sleep that plagued her.

-!!-

"Pretty lady!"

"Let's go, Rin! Our lord will not wait for you and your childish antics! He is already impatient!"

"Hey, she's awake!"

Xianghua opened her eyes to bright brown ones staring right at her. The owner, a young girl, was perched right next to her, her black hair hanging over her shoulders with a small portion of it thrown into a small side ponytail. She was wearing an orange kimono of sorts, and behind her, there was a small toad-like gremlin with big yellow eyes and an ugly beak.

"Who are you two?"

"Rin's name is Rin, and that's Master Jaken!"

"Are you two alone?"

"No! We're traveling with lord Sesshoumaru!"

"Rin!" The toad complained, sticking his hand under her nose and stifling her next sentence.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Xianghua questioned, raising a pointed eyebrow.

Jaken turned to stare at her, his eyes wide and his mouth opened. "H-have you not heard of him?"

Xianghua shrugged. "I have. I'm just wondering why he's with a human girl." From what she had heard, the infamous youkai _hated _humans, not that she blamed him. They smelled funny, and were far too weak and vulnerable. They were tolerable, but not nearly tolerable enough to have one as a "pet".

Rin's face had fallen and she shoved Jaken away from her. "I'll always be by lord Sesshoumaru's side! Forever!"

Xianghua smiled wearily, still exhausted. Her eyes drifted closed and she sighed. _'Why am I so tired?' _She wondered vaguely, cracking an eye open at the pair. They seemed safe enough… With that thought in mind, she gave in to sleep, oblivious to the danger rapidly approaching…


End file.
